Weapons Defense

[dubljay]

I am not sure if this question has been brought up yet but here it goes.

What weapon do you "fear" the most to defend against? i.e. club/stick, edged weapon, firearm, anything at all.

 

[KenpoTex]

At close range, a knife. Obviously, impact and edged weapons are only dangerous if someone is close enough to hit/stab/slash you with it (unless they throw it at you). Therefore if we're not talking about "contact" range or closer the firearm takes the title.

 

[ThatWasAKick]

I think a knife. There is something surreal about facing a gun, almost like you're not you, you're a character in a book, and books always come out okay. That probably doesn't make any sense.
Anyway, if an assailant were holding a knife in a trained manner, it would scare the bejeez out of me. Less so if he were holding it in a layman's grip.

 

[KenpoTex]

I think a knife. There is something surreal about facing a gun, almost like you're not you, you're a character in a book, and books always come out okay. That probably doesn't make any sense.
Anyway, if an assailant were holding a knife in a trained manner, it would scare the bejeez out of me. Less so if he were holding it in a layman's grip.

This raises a good point that I forgot to mention. A person's method of employing whichever weapon we're going to put in the scenario is going to influence my level of expectation with regard to coming away from the situation intact (or at least alive). I'm not saying that it's still not a bad position to be in but if I were to see someone holding or trying to use a weapon the way they do in movies (i.e. the horizontal "gangsta" grip with a handgun or the "psycho-stab" method of knife fighting) I would be a little more optimistic than if I encountered someone in a "modified Weaver" (shooting stance) or using the Pikal-style grip (method of gripping/using a knife). Either way, still not a situation I ever want to find myself in.

 

[Danny T]

What weapon do you "fear" the most to defend against?

The human suicidal murder. We in america are most fortunate it has only been deployed here a few times.

Danny

 

[8253]

I am not afraid of an opponent with a weapon, i just have a healthy respect or them at the time.

 

[Eldritch Knight]

I agree with 8253. I don't fear the weapon, for it is nothing without its wielder. It all depends on how willing my enemy is to kill me.

 

[Kane]

I would very much be mostly afraid of someone with a firearm the most. Even if someone pulls out a knife, I can run if I wanted. If he pulls out a gun, I can't run, and disarming is hard to do unless you are an expert at it. Even then, you might get shot still and fazed a little by a bullet.

 

[sifu nick]

I don't fear any one weapon. I prefer they don't have any weapons at all. Guns, knives, sticks, beer bottles.....i've seen them all become deadly in the wrong scumbags hands. I just try to be as ready as possible for anything.

 

[Andrew Green]

The mindset of the person.

A weapon that is there for show only wouldn't be as scary as someone without one that wanted to do anything at any price to rip me a part. Someone in a mind set where they will rip, claw, bite, gouge, and keep going until they are no longer concious. Someone that would keep beating on me and trying to tear me a part even if I gave up, or lost consciousness. That would be what I would fear the most, not what weapon they had.

 

[Silat Student]

I would say the gun. There are many methods that are taught and refined in the various martial arts to defend against melee weapons but I've yet to hear of a good way to deal with an angry man holding a pump shotgun and standing 10 ft. away (besides not being there in the first place).

 

[spatulahunter]

i would have to say the gun simply because its alot harder to run away from then most other weapons. One of the main principles of hakko ryu jujutsu which i take is escape through the openining and that ir really hard with a gun because of the range. I would always rather run away if i could and guns make that really hard

 

[spatulahunter]

actually i changed my mind
:xwing:
i would have to say that the x wing would mess me up the worst

 

[Mark Lynn]

I think a knife.

Anyway, if an assailant were holding a knife in a trained manner, it would scare the bejeez out of me. Less so if he were holding it in a layman's grip.

What is a layman's grip?

I have to agree with the knife being the weapon I would be most concerned
(fear) going against.

This was from the local news last night.
There was a robbery last night in a small town outside of Dallas (Rowlett) where a guy enter a gas station/store after a customer and stabbed the customer with a knife (alledgedly to show he was serious) and then proceeded to order the clerk to had over the money. which he did.

To me the knife can be conceled in an easier manner, (heck how many people wear them as part of your trade or just to carry them) so it might be looked over till they (the assailent) are to close and then pulled and used against you.

The gun as mentioned can be used from a far enough distance away that the guy really might be posturing with no intent to harm you just scare you into submission. But a guy with the knife I think is more apt to be mentally ready to inflict damage on you.

Mark

 

[ThatWasAKick]

Boar Man - a layman's grip would be just holding the knife as an untrained person would usually pick it up -- like how you would hold a dinner knife. If I saw someone holding it in a combat grip that would indicate to me he had some training.

 

[Gaidheal]

If he has the gun out at 10 feet you can be next to him in the time it takes him to decide he is going to fire... and obviously, you jink. Worse with shotgun if it has shot rather than shell because of the area spread, but actually at that range, the nearer you get the more accurate he has to be for a "winging" because the pattern spread is wider the further from the muzzle it gets. Inside about 3 metres you can close the distance in under, literally, a couple of seconds. I.e. 2s

For this sort of reason, I would be more concerned about being close to a knife wielder, as a rule, but any melée weapon is bad news at close range. Knives are just worse because of the way they so easily kill with a seemingly minor wound, as compared to, say, a baseball bat.

John

P.S. I am not claiming 'Super Powers': if you don't understand why it is easy for someone, especially someone well-trained, to deal with fire-arms at close range, as compared to dealing with melée, please go and study or just ignore.

 

[CMack11]

P.S. I am not claiming 'Super Powers': if you don't understand why it is easy for someone, especially someone well-trained, to deal with fire-arms at close range, as compared to dealing with melée, please go and study or just ignore.

And if you still don't believe it, go to a firing range with a pistol, put a target at about 10 feet out, and hit the target while firing several shots in under 2 seconds. It's a humbling experience when you can't hit even once. Now think about the target moving. It takes a lot of practice to be accurate with a pistol.

 

[Phoenix44]

A friend of mine, a veteran police officer, told me that up to 20 feet, a knife is more dangerous than a gun. Part of it has to do with the fact that it takes time to draw and aim a gun, while a knife doesn't have to be aimed. He also agrees that it's a lot harder to shoot accurately in that situation than one would imagine.

I've seen his training videos, which show a knife vs gun. At that range, knife wins every time. A moderately fast attacker can be on the cop before he can draw and aim. The cops in his videos miss--frequently--even from from 10 feet, especially if they are trying to evade a knife attack simultaneously. And they often fall while trying to draw and back-pedal at the same time.

I'd prefer not to face any weapon.

 

[The Sarg]

My concern would depend on the competency and determination of the attacker. Example; I would rather go against a gun or knife in the hands of someone who is not competent or determined then go against someone who is highly proficient with, say, a stick (ie. I KNOW they can kill me with that stick without difficulty), and who is determined to kill me. However, guns are more chancy. Sure, the person may not be able to hit the broad side of the barn on a regular day, but with my luck they’d get me right in the forehead. With guns, even a simple accident can kill. Knives are chancy too, but not like guns. Your attacker has to really be determined to KILL you with that knife. Without that determination, the knife most likely won’t kill you. Again, though, accidents happened, and with my luck I’d get nailed in the femoral artery and I would die on a fluke.



I don’t fear much, but I haven’t been attacked much either. I guess that competency and determination of the attacker would play a role in how afraid I would be.



Sarg

 

[Phoenix44]

Here's an interesting anecdote from Ron Balicki. I attended a knife defense seminar he and Diana Inosanto gave a couple of years ago at NAPMA. (I'm paraphrasing)

He tells a story of being confronted one time, while he was a police officer, by a knife-wielding attacker. Balicki reached for a 2-by-4, which happened to be available, and cracked the attacker with the piece of wood. Later, his collegues laughed at him, saying, "Big karate man--had to use a 2-by-4 to defend himself!" Balicki replied, "The guy had a knife! What was I supposed to do???"

Balicki respects blades.